5 Ways To Avoid Terrible Casino Bonuses

How can you tell a good casino bonus from a bad casino bonus? It’s actually pretty easy.

Our article will go over how you can:

  • Precisely compare welcome bonuses. 
  • Find out how much a bonus is really worth. 
  • Stay away from casino bonuses with poor terms & conditions.  

Let’s begin. 

Casino Bonuses Explained | A Recap

Online casinos offer casino bonuses as a way to get people to sign up or make a deposit. 

Every bonus advertises the amount of bonus spins or site credit you will receive should you claim it. 

You can use your free spins or site credit to play casino games, and if you follow the T&Cs, you can win real cash. 

There are a few different kinds of casino welcome bonus, which we’ll briefly go over below.

Casino Bonus Types

Bonuses from casinos can be put into two groups: 

  1. No Deposit Bonuses are bonuses you get just for signing up to the casino. 
  2. Deposit Bonuses are bonuses that you get when you make a deposit. 

We’ll talk about both types of bonus in more detail below.

No Deposit Bonus Codes

No deposit bonuses are a free type of bonus you can receive when you register with an online casino. They allow you to win real cash without making a deposit.

This kind of bonus works the same as a “free trial.” Casinos give out no deposit bonuses because players that are given a free trial are more likely to make a future deposit.

Here are overviews of the different no deposit bonuses available:

No Deposit Bonus Credit

No deposit bonuses are given in the form of money. For example, you might get R10 in site credit. Even though they are presented as money, they are similar to vouchers and can only be used at the casino.

Site credit tends to allow you to play a wide range of casino games, including table games and slot games..

Free Spins With No Deposit

Free spins are given in a set number, like 30 free spins. You can only use free spins on slot games.

Generally, you can only play one slot or a handful of slots with free spins that don’t require a deposit.

Deposit Bonuses

To claim a deposit bonus you do, incidentally, have to make a real money deposit. In return, you will receive greater value and generous terms.

To get a deposit bonus, you need to make a deposit of a qualifying value.

We’ll talk about the two main types of deposit bonuses below:

Match Deposit Bonuses

Match deposit bonuses will “match” the amount you deposit up to a certain value and by a certain percentage.

Say, for example, that you claim a 100% match bonus up to R200. If you put in R200, the casino says it will “match” you by giving you R200 in site credit.

Most of the time, the rules for match bonuses are better than those for no deposit bonuses.

Deposit Free Spins Bonuses

Even though they are called “free,” deposit spins are not really free. A deposit is required to claim these free spins, which is why they are named “extra spins” or “deposit spins” in places with strict gambling laws.

Free spins with a deposit work the same way as free spins with no deposit. The main advantage is that you will get a larger quantity of free spins, and their T&Cs will be better.

5 Rules For Spotting A Terrible Casino Bonus

It’s easy to detect a bad bonus.

Feel free to use the five rules below as a checklist:

#1. Casinos Without Licenses

Don’t play at a casino that is not licensed.

If a casino doesn’t have a license, it doesn’t have to follow the laws that are meant to protect customers.

You might get lucky and find an unregulated casino with terrific bonus terms, but you are also making it more likely that you will play at a corrupt casino.

We recommend you avoid them by all means necessary. Only go to the casinos we list on our site.

All of the casinos we list have licenses and have been thoroughly checked out by an expert in the field.

#2. A Bad Reputation Online

Even casinos with licenses can have a bad reputation among real players.

Checking out online casino forums is the most effective way to steer clear of casinos with bad reputations.

Players can file complaints with these forums because they are run by a third party. Subsequently, you can find out if someone has had a bad experience at the casino in the past.

Please be aware, though, that not all online complaints are valid. If a player doesn’t read the rules and then complains about invalidating their bonus, they did not do the right thing.

Before we add an online casino to our list at BangBonus777, we look into how well-regarded it is.

#3. Excessive Wagering Requirements

Generally speaking, a quick look at the wagering requirements will tell you if a casino bonus is bad.

It’s always hard to meet the wagering requirements. Casinos are businesses, so they’d rather not hand out free money.

But there’s a tangible difference between protecting your business and being fair to your new players.

Your odds of winning depend a lot on how much you have to bet. Unsurprisingly, your chances of winning are better the less you have to wager to meet the demands of the wagering requirements.

So, it’s probably best to stay away from casino bonuses with high wagering requirements.

For the best chance of winning, only claim bonuses with wagering requirements between 10x and 40x.

#4. Terms & Conditions That Are Poorly Communicated

If the rules aren’t clear, don’t ask for a bonus.

You should be able to easily find the following T&Cs:

  • Wagering Requirements – This stipulates the amount of times you have to bet the value of your bonus before you can withdraw a portion of your winnings..
  • Game Restrictions – This section lists the games you can play with your casino bonus and the ones you can’t.
  • Win Caps – The maximum you can ultimately win in real cash with your bonus.
  • Maximum Bet Size – The maximum amount you can bet on each bet or spin.
  • Date of Expiration – When your bonus will end.
  • Game Contribution – Depending on the game you play, this is the percentage of your stake that counts toward the wagering requirements.

If the terms and conditions are not clear, you might accidentally lose your bonus.

#5. Game Restrictions

A casino can limit the games you can play with your bonus in one of two ways:

  • Eligible Games – The games you can play with your bonus money.
  • Game Contribution – The amount of your bet that bet counts towards the wagering requirements for each game.

Together, these rules can make it much harder for you to win with a casino bonus.

Let’s begin by going over the list of eligible games.

By giving out casino bonuses, casinos risk taking a significant hit on their profits. Because of this, casinos don’t like to give bonuses on slots or table games with favorable odds or games that are particularly volatile.

Typically, your bonus will let you play one slot or a few different slot games. Most likely, the odds and volatility of the eligible slots is likely to be about average.

You must only play games on the list of eligible games until you cash out your winnings or the bonus expires, whichever comes first.

This is all pretty easy to understand.

But it becomes a lot more complicated when games with high odds can be played.

If you get a bonus that lets you play high odds games such as craps or blackjack, you should know about something called “Game Contribution.”

Most of the time, a game’s odds will affect how much of your stake counts toward the wagering requirements.

This can make a big difference in how likely you are to win real money.

Imagine, for instance,, you get a bonus that alters blackjack’s contribution to 4%.

If you use your bonus to bet $100 on blackjack, only $40 of that $100 will count toward the wagering requirements.

Compared to most slots – which usually give back 100% of your bet – this is a difference of 96%.

In the end, the low contribution completely cancels out the better odds of table games, and can make it up to 25 times less likely that you will ultimately win.

We suggest that you play slot games as they tend to contribute 100%.

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Check Out Our Exclusive Casino Bonuses!

On our site, you might sometimes find a bonus that says “Exclusive.” This means that we’ve arranged for a bonus that can only be claimed by our visitors.

The special perks for these bonuses include:

  • Outstanding Wagering Requirements – The low wagering requirements makes it more likely you win.
  • Superior Value – You’ll get more site credit and free spins.
  • You Can Play Popular Games – With these bonuses, you can play the best casino games made by the top software companies in the world.

Visit our Exclusive Casino Bonuses page to see a full list of our exclusive bonuses.

To Conclude

Even though we’ve told you how to avoid a bad casino bonus in 5 steps, each step revolves around these two points: 

  1. Play at a casino that has been licensed and checked. 
  2. Read the bonus rules carefully.

If you do both of these, you will avoid the vast majority of bad bonuses. 

At BangBonus777, we do everything we can to help with this. All the bonuses we offer have been thoroughly evaluated. By using our directory, you can avoid the chance of playing with bad casino bonuses.

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FAQ

Yes, of course – so long as you play at a licensed casino that has been thoroughly checked out by a professional in the industry. At BangBonus777, this is the promise you get.

It depends.

Some players like to play right away for real money, but by doing so, they miss out on a range of benefits, including:

  • Improved Bankroll – Getting a bonus can often increase the amount of money you put in by two or three times.
  • You Can Win Real Cash – Most bonuses will reward you with real cash if you fulfill the T&Cs.
  • More Time To Play – Casino bonuses let you play for longer than you would be able to without them.
  • No Deposit Required – There are a lot of free casino bonuses that let you play without having to make a deposit.

Yes, usually you can win real cash with a no deposit bonus if you follow the bonus’s rules.

But before you claim your bonus, we recommend that you read the T&Cs to find out if it can be cashed out or not.

You cannot ‘win’ with a bonus that can’t be cashed out. You may as well be playing in demo-mode.

Published on: 2023/01/25

Our Expert

Hi, I'm Michael. As the Senior Writer here at BangBonus777, I write objective reviews and articles to ensure you get the best possible gaming experience. Here at BangBonus777, we're constantly looking out for you by recommending the best gambling practices, casinos and bonuses!